It’s a Wrap, Guys – Or Almost At Least.

Did you ever wonder what kind of person volunteers in the Community Ministry Program?

In many ways, they are just like you (please note that I did not say they were normal).  They have a day job and a life and all that that entails.  But they have something more.  Something that keeps drawing them back and into the program.  Something that binds them to the program.  No, check that.  Backspace.  Erase.  Something that binds them to the kids.

It generally doesn’t start that way.  Most people come in a bit hesitant.  What is going to be required of them?  Are they going to get along with the kids?  Do they have what it takes to deal with a supposed ‘special population’.  And then they get their first few weeks in, and they discover that while our population may be ‘special’, that does not always mean ‘problem’.  Yes, Community Ministries has their ‘problem’ kids; children who have been so damaged by what life has dealt out to them that they present special challenges.  But many of our kids are just kids; funny kids, curious kids, energetic kids, cute kids, who have not been graced with all of the advantages that so many of us take as a matter of right.

And at that point, the new volunteer bonds with the program.  And by that I mean, of course, with the kids, and it becomes not something the volunteer is doing to discharge their social obligation to the needy, but something they are doing for a child that they now know and care about.

How else would you explain the fact that even though our year formally ended two weeks ago, and our Celebration Dinner for kids and parents was last week, this week, when we were finally able to schedule in the docents from the John Ball Zoo with a selection of carnivorous and disgusting animals (after all, this is for kids), every single leader (plus some of the drivers) came in to bring kids in, take them home, and watch an amazing session between our kids and the zoo folks.

Or how would you explain that fact that when, the other day, we got a few tickets to a show in Grand Rapids (part of the Broadway Show Series) and we put out the call to see if anyone wanted to go and take a couple of kids, that even at the end of a busy year, we had someone lined up within a few minutes.

In the end, I can’t help but marvel at our volunteers.  It’s easy to care in a very intellectual and distant way.  Oh, those poor children.  But it’s quite another to feel that caring at a personal level, to make a connection with a child who could just as easily, in another life, been a neighbor or friend of your own children, or maybe even your own child.  Everybody thinks that Jesus said things that proved they were living a proper life.  But a close inspection of the Bible shows that most of all Jesus asked us to just love.  Community Ministries is one of the ways in which you can carry out that command (and I think of it as nothing less than that) for ‘some of the least of these’ that our ‘win at all costs’ society is more than willing to leave behind.  Collateral Damage in a society that values all the wrong things.

Can you see yourself in that role?   Even if you can’t, no worries, mate.  My experience has been that it happens, whether you think it will or not.   Think it over.  Give us a call.

 

Kids Club Awards Banquet

Everyone needs some encouragement from time to time.  And being recognized by your peers and mentors is a special event.  Even if it’s just for something simple, but something that really indicates who we are.

For many of our kids, being recognized for something good comes few and far between, and it is often easy for them to think that they don’t deserve to be recognized or celebrated except for doing something extreme.  So, once a year, Community Ministries Kids Club celebrate what makes every child special with the annual Awards Banquet.

Every child there gets a separate award, is called to the front of the room separately to a rousing round of applause, a handshake with Scott, the Kids Club Director, and a picture with their award certificate.  With awards ranging from ‘Best Smile’ to ‘Most Helpful’ to ‘Best Hair’ to ‘Evans Scholarship’ (for best student based on school grades, both boy and girl), to the coveted ‘Macho Man’ award, every child walks away with a smile and a good feeling.

And that is priceless; Fellowship Hall filled to the brim with smiling kids.  It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Ever think that you might want to be part of a program like that?  We can always use a few more good leaders.  Call 616-456-7168 and ask for Donna.

A Face From the Past

When you work with Community Ministries you see people come and go.  Even kids who are faithful to the program for many years eventually grow up and move on.  And sometimes you never hear from them again (although sometimes you do).  A couple of the leaders were sitting around a few weeks ago, reminiscing about the early days of the program and I casually threw out ‘I wonder what ever happened to Pernell?’

Pernell was a young man who had grown up in the program, starting in elementary school and continuing on through high school – and then he had vanished.  He was a high energy person, very intelligent, very volatile, and with a potential for going either way.

I never thought I would get an answer to that question but the next week, when I walked into the Community Ministries office, guess who was standing there large as life.   Yep, you guessed it – Pernell.

He is getting married, has a full time job, and seems to have grown up.  Who knew?

We hugged, we talked, I teased him about being so old.  It was great.  And then we talked about the Thursday program; a meal, some discussion, bible study and suggested that he drop in for it.  He was skeptical at first but -

Pernell had attended the last three Thursday night programs.  And more than that, he is a major contributor during the Bible Study, often   looking around at some of the high school participants and challenging them to speak up.  I always knew Pernell was a leader, but you never know how people are really going to turn out.  And now he has a full time job, he is getting married, he is a role model for the younger kids.  Like I said, who knew.  Certainly everything in Pernell’s youth didn’t point to a positive end.

And that is what Community Ministries is all about.  It’s working with kids, getting to care about them, even when they don’t show anything in terms of their future.  And then all of a sudden, seeing them years later. Sometimes the news is good, sometimes it isn’t.   But when it’s good, it’s priceless.

And isn’t that what so many of us are looking for?  For the chance to make a difference?  To be a positive influence in someone’s life.  The problem is, sometimes even when you are having an impact, it doesn’t seem like you are.  But in God’s world, every seed that falls to earth has a chance to bear fruit.  Isn’t it worth the chance, isn’t it worth the effort?  Certainly much of what Pernell has done to turn his life around, he did on his own.  But it is hard to think that we were not a part of that process, not a part of giving him an image of what his life could really be like.   And that is what Community Ministries is about – about helping kids see alternatives.  If you are the kind of person who would like to do something like that, give working with Community Ministries some thought (456-7168 – Donna).

 

Valentine’s Service Project

So often when we talk about Community Ministries, we talk about the things the kids have done, fun things, things that they don’t normally get to do. But fun is not all that we do at Community Ministries. Service is also a big part of our program.

And so, last Thursday, our TMO group interrupted our normal Bible study regimen to bake and decorate heart shaped cookies, package them up and tie them with a bow, and then deliver them to some of the members of the Trinity UMC congregation that live at Clark Retirement Community in Grand Rapids, MI. The weather was abnormally warm that night but even if it would have been freezing we would have headed out to deliver them. Most of the people that we delivered to know about our program and a number of them are former volunteers including Barbara who was 85 when she started working with it and who invited us in (all 20 of us) and showed us her spoon collection.

But the big surprise of the evening was when we came back to the church and finally had our dinner. As part of dinner we always ask a question that everyone has to answer. And the question tonight was ‘what was your favorite Valentine memory?’. We went around the table and finally got to one of our 7th graders and one of our most energetic boys.

Without a pause he said that his favorite memory of Valentine’s Day was from that very night, when one of the couples that we delivered cookies to teared up and hugged him because they had been remembered by people who didn’t even really know them.

You can’t underestimate the importance of kindness, especially of random acts of kindness. And teaching that lesson is just one of the things we try to do in the Community Ministries program.

Things that are Important in Community Ministries

In the previous post, one of our volunteers, So-Heon Park, talked about her experiences with the Community Ministry program.

Without trying to paraphrase her, she said that one of the thing that she learned was that the children in the Kids Program led different lives from what she lived.  And by extension, that all of us lead.

And that is one of the hardest things for Community Ministries volunteers to learn – that the kids in our program lead very different lives from what we have led, even those of us who come from very different cultures.  And the problem isn’t that it is really a different culture, as much as it is a broken culture. Because there is a big difference between the traditional african-american culture with it’s emphasis on the family and the inner city black culture which features the family in the abstract but which is mostly about isolation and being taken advantage of.  It is not a healthy culture and has very little to do with the traditional African American cultural values.  But it is what most of the kids in our program live with on a daily basis.

We in the mainstream middle class world have a particular way of looking at things.  We tend to think of this way as the ‘right’ way and that may very well be true.  But that doesn’t mean that other people don’t think differently about things, or that they are necessarily wrong.  But it is important for us to always remember that not everyone is exactly like us, and that God loves them just as much as he loves us.

Helping our kids find their way to a healthy culture is an important part of what we do in the Community Ministries program, and one that we hope you will keep in mind.

 

 

The Value of Trinity Community Ministries

 

My name is So-heon Park. I was an intern at Trinity in the spring of 2010 and I am a volunteer for kid’s club since this fall. I would like to share some of my great experiences at Trinity Community Ministries Program. When I first started working at Trinity, I had goals to learn about poverty and to gain an understanding of low-income families. I tried to help kids and be a role model so that they can have a positive and successful future. However, I feel I have learned more from kids than what I have given.

I learned how kids live different lives compare to my life. Some girls are afraid of reading by their window at home, because they are scared of getting shot. When I was leading a Bible study group on one of Thursday nights, I was looking for a boy in my group. A girl in my group said, “Don’t worry. He will come back because he left his cookie and drink here.” When I asked kids what the thing they were most thankful for, they say that “I am thankful to have my family and to be alive.” Most kids have experiences of losing their family members because of gun shooting or gang related activities. It is just heartbreaking. I learned the meaning of money, food, friend, and family can be different for people in different income level. I think it is very important to learn, understand, and accept the reality that there are these kids who have different lives in our neighborhoods. The most important thing is to brainstorm how to help and serve these kids because we are one family in Jesus Christ and we have capabilities and resources to love them. I think Trinity is doing what we are called to do: loving kids and serving them.

Trinity taught me how much I have in my life, and as I serve these kids, I learned love goes in two ways, not in one way. When I love and care about them, I see small changes from kids. They would not speak to me or say hi in the beginning. However, as we spend time together and build trust, they try to remember my name, say hi, and tell funny stories at school. The best part is getting a huge hug as greeting. I would be burnt out if I think I am just serving them and giving my time. However, I actually feel very happy to be with kids and whenever I see their big smile, I do not feel tired at all. This is a sign of getting loved by them.

Trinity provides great activities and programs for kids. Not only kids learn living skills and have fun at Trinity, but also staff members and volunteers learn how to love while they try to make Trinity a safe place.

A New Beginning

Traditionally, we associate August or September, or January, with new beginnings, but at Community Ministries, everything starts anew the first week of October.  That is when we open up for signups for the new program year that runs from October through April.  And then, the next week, the program itself kicks off.

“We use September to get all of our leaders trained,” notes Donna Shirey, CM’s Director and Teen Coordinator.  ”This year we have a lot of new leaders so it was more important than ever to have time to get them in the flow.”

Training for new leaders is a two pronged attack; getting everyone familiar with the details of how Community Ministries works, and also providing some practical guidance in terms of what the program is trying to accomplish and the proper frame of mind for approaching things.

Signup’s went off without a hitch as kids came in, happy that the program was starting again.  And then the second week in October it began.  And suddenly everything seemed natural again.  Kids of all ages filing into the building, laughing and looking to see who else was there.

Right now it seems like a long time until April but the weeks and months will speed right by.  As those days go by our kids will be growing and developing.  And it is our prayer that Community Ministries will have a major impact on that growth and development.

Ever Wonder How it Would Feel to be Poor?

That’s a question that a group from the Community Ministries program came to grips with last week as Access presented a Poverty Simulation designed to help non-poverty people understand just what it is like to be poor in America.

“I played a role of 17-year-old girl in a family. My family had mom, dad, and a younger brother who was 15 years old. I was a honor student in high school and I  was looking forward to going to college. Dad had lost his job, and we had about $1300 to pay for morgage, utilities, and food, etc. But we only had $250 on our saving account. I immediately got a job at Burger Queen and worked 15 hours a week. Even though dad, brother, and I worked, we ended up being evicted. We could plan it out somehow, so we could get our house back, but still we didn’t have shelter for days. As a 17-year-old girl, I had to give up many things. I didn’t have time or money to hang out with friends or even with family. Family was driven by money and everyone was busy figuring out how we are going to survive. There was no family quality time or no time for talking about my future plan (college). I could feel myself wearing out.”

Those of us who are in the middle class tend to think that we can work our way through anything.  Finesse the system, figure out a plan, go from where we are to where we want to be.  It’s just a matter of will, of intelligence.  But is that true?  Or is it possible that you can get so far down that you can’t possibly get back up without serious help?

” Several of us were very shocked at how quickly we thought of trying to steal other family’s money so we could get groceries or pay rent. A few of us actually did steal money that was left at “home” while the family was away running errands. One of the questions asked of us was how many of you were still as honest at the beginning as by the end, and I think most people couldn’t say that they were.”

There is no excuse for bad behavior, not if you are rich and not if you are poor.  But your financial situation does influence your behavior.  It influences what you consider as acceptable behavior.

“I was a 15-year-old boy in a family with a sister and my mom and dad. My dad just lost a good job, my mom wasn’t working, and like many Americans we had very little savings, which expired quickly. We needed to pay our mortgage, buy groceries, pay off loans, and pay utilities. We also needed to make doctors appointments, fill out the absurdly difficult form for unemployment benefits, apply for jobs, go to school, and negotiate with the bank. Like in real life, the days were too short and there was too much to do. I’m fairly competent financially, and I’d like to think that I have at least a few street smarts. I failed miserably. What’s more, I know that I’d fail miserably in real life too.”

Poverty is the single biggest problem that America faces today, not because it is a burden on every public budget out there, but because of the life that it forces on the children who are born into that situation and are therefore often condemned to remain there.

“I’ve known for a while that poverty isn’t merely a financial state, but actually a state of being. I know that it truly encompasses every aspect of one’s life, forcing its way into each arena of existence. When I was asked to participate in ACCESS West Michigan’s Poverty Simulation, I assumed that this pervasiveness would be the focus. It wasn’t, and I’m glad. Instead of taking a theoretical approach to poverty and what it means, ACCESS dares to do something much more difficult. In three hours, they make poverty real. They bring each person into poverty and force you to live in circumstances out of your control.”

There is no simple answer to poverty.  It’s not as simple as just giving people money.  But maybe the most important piece is to give people hope; hope that their future can be different from their present, and hope that others will be there to help them on their journey.

“ Poverty breeds poverty, unless someone steps in. Thankfully, that’s how ACCESS ended the simulation, with the hope that someone would step up, and step in. There’s simply no way out unless regular people take a note from Christ’s Book and pull others up by their bootstraps. It truly is up to us.”

A Community Ministries Summer

It seems that everyone I have talked to over the last week has had one thing on their minds – how fast the summer has gone and, good grief but soon it will be over.

I’ll start by ignoring the half full mentality here but I do have to admit the facts are correct.  If you consider summer to be June 1 to Labor Day then we are about half done with it.  Actually more than half done.  Even though it is still hot and humid outside, the average daily temperature has crested (83 degrees) and is now starting to slowly decline.

And the five week Trinity Community Ministries program is nearing the end of it’s fourth week.

It has been a busy summer  so far.   With activities three days a week from noon until into the evening, the kids have covered a lot of ground.  Most obvious are the outings that have been scheduled; a trip to Grand Haven State Park, a picnic at church with games, a night of roasting hot dogs and marshmallows at Camp Optimist, bowling, an evening of acrobatics at Gymco, and others.

But the day to day activities have been what keep the kids coming back.   This includes things like healthy cooking classes sponsored by the Y, Tuesday afternoon cycling around Reeds Lake, impromptu games of football, tennis lessons from one of our summer interns, and much more.

And, lest we forget, the educational element.  The Reading Buddies program matches up adults with kids for an hour of reading each week.  Books are mutually selected and it’s one way that Community Ministries fights SLL (Summer Learning Loss).

So, summer may be going by, but there is still plenty going on at the Community Ministries program.  Check it out. 

 

Graduation Day 2011

It’s that time of year again, when the hard work of the past few years pays off and we celebrate another graduating class.

For many of us, graduation, especially from high school, and even from some level of college is almost an expected thing.  It’s not a surprise when we get there and there is more of a feeling of anticipation, of looking ahead than satisfaction over what is behind.

But for many of the students in the Community Ministries program high school graduation is a very big deal, and college graduation is almost a dream.  They may be the first person in their family to graduate.  But beyond that, they may have faced actual opposition from their families.  ”Why are you trying to graduate?”  ”Are you trying to be better than us?”   To persevere in the face of opposition or disinterest from those closest to you is one of the hardest battle to fight, but that is what many of our kids have to do.

And some don’t win the battle.  But others do, and they become our graduates: Eric, Marion, Dante , Adiana, and Beatris (High School), Marion (GED), and Yata and Barb (College).  Congratulations and well done to all!